Cooling Arrangement for Refrigerators

ABSTRACT

A cooling arrangement for refrigerators that enables better temperature control and maintenance for beverage cans. The cooling arrangement facilitates access to the beverage cans without opening other cold storage chambers of the refrigerator. The cooling arrangement also prevents abrupt movement of the cans that can generate overflow of the liquid content of the beverage cans upon opening.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention is related to the field of appliances, devices, apparatusand arrangements for home, public or industrial use, etc. for cooling ofproducts or packages containing products, preferably of mass consumptionsuch as beverages and more specifically containers or cans. Morespecifically, the invention is a selective cooling arrangement for theseproducts and enhanced access to the same, mainly in domesticrefrigerators.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR STATE OF THE ART

Refrigerators for general products whether for industrial, domestic orpublic use, dispensers, etc. consist of an insulated box that containswhat is known as a cold storage or cooling chamber in the interior. Indomestic refrigerators the interior of this box is usually divided intotwo parts: one part for cooling products in general (mainly foodstuffs)in the main chamber which is fitted with a main access door, and anotherpart above or below the first devoted to more intense cooling (freezing)of certain special products. The freezer is usually smaller than thegeneral section and may reach temperatures as low as −20° C., while thein the main or general chamber the temperature is normally around 6° C.,sufficient for the type of products stored in the same.

For certain products, however, neither of these temperature regimes isthe most suitable to condition them for consumption. For example, cansof beer are a typical product that, in accordance with the customs ofsome countries, particularly in South America, may be consumed attemperatures below the 6° C. of the main refrigerator chamber but abovethe −20° C. of the freezer. Moreover, conventional refrigerators do notinclude specially designed storage space for drinks cans which as ageneral rule are stored in some inconvenient sector of the main doors.This in turn means that when opening and closing the door the cans moveabruptly from side to side so that the beverage will be agitated causingthem to overflow when opened.

There are refrigerators designed to generate and maintain the desiredtemperatures for products such as beer, but they are special coldstorage facilities for specialized premises such as restaurants, bottlestores, dispensers, etc. However, domestic refrigerators adapted to orthat have special compartments for conditioning beer and other productsat sectorized temperatures and which provide easy, quick and selectiveaccess to said products are unknown in the current state of the art.

For that reason, a new arrangement either factory-fitted or adapted toexisting domestic refrigerators would be a valuable convenience. Itwould enable conservation of products such as container for diverseproducts in the form of cans at the right temperature using thecold-generating capacity of the coldest parts of the cool storagechambers and provide direct access to these products without having toopen the other sections of the appliance and avoiding brusque movementof the cans.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Therefore one object of this invention is to provide a coolingarrangement for refrigerators that enables creation of a space at theselected and controlled temperatures for products that so require and toprovide direct access to these products without having to open otherchambers of the refrigerator.

Another object of the invention is to provide a cooling arrangement forrefrigerators in which the appliance may have one or more doors where atleast one of said doors—preferably the one that provides access to thecoldest chamber—includes a compartment to store and conserve thedifferentiated products.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cooling arrangementfor refrigerators that prevents abrupt movement of the cans stored inthe same.

The final object of s invention is to provide a cooling arrangement forrefrigerators in which the appliance has at least one access door to atleast one cold storage chamber of the refrigerator, where said at leastone access door consists of a compartment defined by a front panel, aninner panel and an inclined consumer product storage structure. Saidfront panel is provided with a viewing/extraction window assembly with apivoting sealing cover to access the cans while the inner panel isprovided with multiple slots for entry of cold air and a window forloading said cans.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Various figures have been included to provide greater and understandingof the object of the invention. These figures, submitted for purelyillustrative purposes, represent the invention in one of its preferredforms, where:

FIG. 1 shows a partial perspective view a domestic refrigerator of thetype having two doors, a lower or main door to access the main coldstorage chamber of the refrigerator and an upper access door to thefreezer. In the drawing, this refrigerator is fitted with the coolingarrangement of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the upper or freezer door where oneform of application of the invention can be seen, in this caseextraction of a can.

FIG. 3 shows a partial cutaway perspective of the interior of thefreezer door provided with the cooling arrangement of the inventionwhere several can be seen.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of the freezer door fitted with thesectorized cooling arrangement of the invention opened to access to thecold storage chamber as freezer,

FIG. 5 shows an exploded view of cooling arrangement of the invention.

FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of the cooling arrangement of theinvention in one of its applications for illustrative purposes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Now with reference to the figures, it can be seen that the inventionconsists of a new cooling arrangement of selected and controlledtemperatures for products that so require, particularly cannedbeverages, enabling the same to be deposited and extracted withoutopening other cold storage chambers and avoiding sudden movements ofsaid cans that could cause the contents of the same to overflow onopening,

Thus, according to FIGS. 1 to 6, the cooling arrangement forrefrigerators of this invention is indicated by the general frame ofreference 1 and can be used in a refrigerator 2 with a main access doorwhich has a main cooling sector with a main access door to said mainsector and a freezer 3 with an access door 4. Wherein said access door 4consists of a compartment defined by front panel 5, an inner panel 6 andan inclined storage structure c for consumer products such as cans 8.

Said front panel 5 is provided with a viewing/extraction window 9together with a pivoting sealing cover 10 pivotally attached to the topof the window 9 and which is operatively connected to an actuatingbutton 11 provided on the front panel 5. Thus, when the button ispressed 11 it actuates a trigger 18 that opens the sealing cover 10,causing it to pivot upwards and to enable the cans 8 to be extractedthrough the window 9 as shown in FIG. 6. It is emphasized that saidsealing cover 10 is mounted on the window 9 by means of a hinge system(not shown) so that said cover 10 may be made of a material selectedfrom the group consisting of plastics with insulating capacity.Moreover, said front panel 5 can be fitted with a display screen 12 toindicate the temperature inside the compartment.

Said inner panel 6 is provided with multiple slots 13 which permitpassage and circulation of cold air from the cold storage chamber 3 tothe compartment and vice versa to maintain a constant temperature of thecontainers or cans. Likewise, said inner panel 6 has a loading window 14located on the upper part thereof. The structure of the inclined storagespace 7 consists of a horizontal “V”-shaped divided ramp 15 which has aninitial upper section 16 and a final lower section 17. Saidviewing/extraction window 9 on the frontal panel 5 coincides with theinitial upper section 16 and lower final section 17, while the loadingwindow 14 of the inner panel 6 is coincides with the initial uppersection 1.

Thus, the cans 8 are loaded or deposited through the loading window 14,move by gravity from the upper section 16 to the lower section 17 andcan be withdrawn through the viewing/extraction window 9 by pressing theactuation button 11 which actuates said cover shutter 10. Since they aresubject to gravity, the replacement of the cans in the lower section 17of the divided ramp 15 is performed automatically and sequentially asthe cans are extracted one after another.

Likewise, this inclined storage structure 7 is comprised of a reinforcedplastic material, aluminium and steel. Said front panel 5, said inclinedstorage structure 7 and said inner panel 6 form a pivoting assembly inthe refrigerator 2 by means of at least one opening hinge assembly foraccess to the cold storage chamber 3. It is emphasized that saidinclined storage structure 7 may be fitted with at least one temperaturesensor (not shown) which is connected to said display screen 12.

Thus the cooling arrangement of this invention for refrigerators isdescribed and illustrated. To sum up, it enables better temperaturecontrol end maintenance so that the drinks contained m the cans can beconsumed in the best condition. Furthermore, by providing a spacededicated to the cans, the invention prevents them from abrupt movementsfrom one side to the other as occurs in conventional refrigerators.

1-9. (canceled)
 10. A cooling arrangement for refrigerators of the typethat has at least one access door to at least one cold storage chamberof the refrigerator, characterized in that: said at least one accessdoor consists of a compartment defined by a front panel, an inner paneland an inclined consumer product storage structure, said front panel isprovided with a viewing/extraction it dow in conjunction with a pivotingsealing cover, while said inner panel is provided with multiple slotsand a loading window.
 11. The cooling arrangement for refrigeratorsaccording to claim 10, characterized in that the refrigerator has a maincooling section with a main access door to said main and a freezersector with an access door, this access door being the access door tothe refrigerator cold storage chamber.
 12. The cooling arrangement forrefrigerators according to claim 10, wherein said inclined storagestructure consists of a divided horizontal “V”-shaped ramp having aninitial upper section and a final lower section and is made of areinforced plastic material, aluminium, steel or a combination thereof.13. The cooling arrangement for refrigerators according to claim 10,characterized in that said viewing/extraction window on the front panelcoincides with the initial upper and final lower sections of the dividedramp while said pivoting sealing cover is fixed pivotally at the top ofsaid extraction window.
 14. The cooling arrangement for refrigeratorsaccording to claim 13, characterized in that said pivoting sealing coveris operatively connected to an actuating button on the front panel bymeans of a trigger, said cover being made of a material selected fromthe group of plastic materials with insulating capacity.
 15. The coolingarrangement for refrigerators according to claim 10, characterized inthat said loading window on the inner panel coincides with the initialupper section of the divided ramp.
 16. The cooling arrangement forrefrigerators according to claim 10, characterized in that said frontpanel of the refrigerator door, said inclined storage structure and saidinner panel form a pivoting assembly in the refrigerator by means of atleast one first opening hinge assembly for access to the cold storagechamber.
 17. The cooling arrangement for refrigerators according toclaim 16, characterized in that said inclined storage structure has atleast one temperature sensor.
 18. The cooling arrangement forrefrigerators according to claim 16, characterized in that said frontpanel has a temperature display screen inside said compartment,
 19. Thecooling arrangement for refrigerators according to claim 12,characterized in that said viewing/extraction window on the front panelcoincides with the initial upper and final lower sections of the dividedramp while said pivoting sealing cover is fixed pivotally at the top ofsaid extraction window.
 20. The cooling arrangement for refrigeratorsaccording to claim 19, characterized in that said pivoting sealing coveris operatively connected to an actuating button on the front panel bymeans of a trigger, said cover being made of a material selected fromthe group of plastic materials with insulating capacity.
 21. The coolingarrangement for refrigerators according to claim 13, characterized inthat said loading window on the inner panel coincides with the initialupper section of the divided ramp.
 22. The cooling arrangement forrefrigerators according to claim 12, characterized in that said frontpanel of the refrigerator door, said inclined storage structure and saidinner panel form a pivoting assembly in the refrigerator by means of atleast one first opening hinge assembly for access to the cold storagechamber.
 23. The cooling arrangement for refrigerators according toclaim 22, characterized in that said inclined storage structure has atleast one temperature sensor.
 24. The cooling arrangement forrefrigerators according to claim 22, characterized in that said frontpanel has a temperature display screen inside said compartment.
 25. Thecooling arrangement for refrigerators according to claim 15,characterized in that said front panel of the refrigerator door, saidinclined storage structure and said inner panel form a pivoting assemblyin the refrigerator by means of at least one first opening hingeassembly fir access to the cold storage chamber.
 26. The coolingarrangement for refrigerators according to claim 25, characterized inthat said inclined storage structure has at least one temperaturesensor.
 27. The cooling arrangement for refrigerators according to claim25, characterized in that said front panel has a temperature displayscreen inside said compartment.